After a period of disruption which threatened an uncertain future, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) finds itself on more solid footing for its 77th edition this year. At its new home of the Cameo Cinema, the relaunch was marked by an Opening Gala UK premiere of German director Nora Fingscheidt’s latest film The Outrun. Based on Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir of the same name, the drama follows biologist Rona (Saoirse Ronan, who also co-produced alongside her husband Jack Lowden) as she returns to her hometown in the Orkney Islands following a stint at rehab for alcoholism. I was fortunate enough to attend the screening and chat with the team on the red carpet.
I was struck by the use of colour in the film as the narrative travels between Rona’s chaotic city lifestyle down south and the tranquil, natural beauty of Scotland. Fingscheidt explained “we wanted the ocean blues and mermaid turquoise to represent the ‘Orkney world’ and when she’s first there, she’s longing for the warm oranges and pinks of London. The more time she spends there, the blue grows out of her hair and by the end she connects both worlds”.
Renaming the main character to Rona for the film adaptation of Amy’s very honest book, Saoirse Ronan discussed the collaboration that was involved in the piece. “It was an open dialogue which I think we needed to have from the very beginning. I think Amy and I realised early on that it was important from a creative standpoint to make the character an evolution of the three of us; myself, Amy, and Nora”. Adding to this, Amy (who also co-wrote the screenplay) said “I always felt able to comment and get involved, but I think rather than drawing from me as a person, you were able to draw from the book and the script and it’s really a conversation artistically between acting and literature in a way which is quite a magic thing”. Saoirse continued “the way Amy chose to depict the story really caught me off guard when reading it, because it’s something that a lot of us can be so familiar with, but also told in such a unique and poetic way”.
Mirroring the mindset of the troubled protagonist, the story rapidly shifts between heightened emotions and also the starkly different times in Rona’s life. Fingscheidt talked about how she uses Amy’s memoir as a guide for this. “The book is super jumpy – way more than the film is because it shows the process of thinking and is a collection of journal writing. Sometimes we can move in one sentence from London to Orkney and back so we wanted to preserve that…but as the film progresses and Nora calms down, so does the narrative structure as well”.
“It was so important for me to get it right because there are so many depictions of a drunk that can seem cartoonish” explained Saoirse, speaking on the challenges and inspirations of ‘drunk acting’ in the film’s scenes of hedonism where Rona can quickly go from the life and soul of the party to a volatile mess. “I watched Stephen Graham’s performance in The Virtues and that was kind of the only thing that I watched because it was so authentic, and another friend of mine was in recovery and said this is the one thing we need to watch.
I had little titbits of advice that people would give me like, you know when people are drunk, the last thing they want to appear to be is drunk so it was important to know when to keep it all together and when to let it go to think about how I was holding myself physically from one scene to the next. I also still wanted those moments where Rona’s actually amazing when she’s drunk and having a great time. We needed to show those highs and lows of the experience and to see why it is she was in love with that feeling”.
EIFF often celebrates its opening night with Scottish stories, and Nora Fingscheidt was pleased to bring her film to the festival. “I am very proud and it’s where the film belongs. We shot here two years ago and it’s a very Scottish film, so it’s the best place for it to be”. Amy Liptrot added “I was a student here many years ago and worked at the fringe. I never imagined I’d be back with my own piece of work”. Saoirse also spoke on her love for the country – “for me, Scotland has been my home and has been a huge part of my life. I lived in Edinburgh for a spell and it’s probably one of my favourite cities. Jack [Lowden] and I agreed that it was kind of essential to premiere the movie here. It was a must!”
The Outrun premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and will be released in UK cinemas from 27th September 2024
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